Using newly collected national and sub-national data and historical case studies, this paper argues that differences in innovative capacity, captured by the density of engineers at the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution, are important to explaining present in come differences, and, in...

This article reassesses the classic period of Import-Substituting Industrialisation (ISI) in Brazil between 1945 and 1979. New data presented here show that Brazilian industry achieved significant labour productivity growth during the post-war years and became more technologically sophisticated,...

New panel data estimates for the four East Asian Tigers show that the contribution of total factor productivity (TFP) to growth is much higher than past estimates. An extended production function with learning by doing implies that TFP is about 3.5% and these countries will grow at this rate in...

We look at Korea's industrialization strategy and experience from the 1960s to the mid-1990s. Three elements of the Korean industrial development and structural change are discussed: 1) its outward orientation and export push, 2) its climb up the ladder of comparative advantage, and 3) its...

This review of the book by Thomas Piketty, The capital in the XXI century, presents the central themes of the work and exposes its scope on the relationship between inequality and wealth. In particular a positive reflections on the progressive tax is added.

Namibia is now in its fourth year as an internationally recognised sovereign, independent state, and it is of interest to understand and consider the policy directions opted by the Government to achieve the objectives of growth' and equity. Obviously, three years in the history of a state do not...

This research tests the long-standing hypothesis put forth by Lynn White, Jr. (1962) that the adoption of the heavy plough in Northern Europe was an important cause of economic development. White argued that it was impossible to take proper advantage of the fertile clay soils of Northern Europe...

This research evaluates the impact of the introduction of clover and potatoes on urbanization using a panel of Danish market towns from 1672 to 1901. We find evidence that both clover and potatoes contributed to urbanization using a difference-in-difference type estimation strategy which...

The windfall acquisition of precious metals from American mines and the military revolution of the Early Modern age allowed the Spanish monarchs to command large amounts of credit andpursue an expansive imperial policy unlike that of any other Early Modern nation; when the costof the Empire...

Compared to many cross-country studies on the determinants of growth rate, time series approaches are relatively few and limited in scope. However, time series studies are useful for country-specific policies. But in many recent works ad hoc specifications have been used to analyze the...